The Absolut Company Stories

Lovisa Kragerud was hired last year as TAC’s first ever Corporate Archivist & Chief Storyteller. She is now on a three-part mission – to build an archive from scratch, dig deeper into the company’s almost 150-year history, and make it accessible for future generations. She’s just started scratching the surface, but as it turns out, it’s a perfect match for a curious book-worm and someone who’s always believed she was born into the wrong century. 

As an archivist, where do you spend most of your working days?

I spend most of the time in the office but compared to a normal office worker I get out much more. At least if spending every otherweek in a cold storage facility in Åhus counts as getting out! This is my first year here and since I’m the first archivist ever at the company, much of my work has focused on building our archive from scratch. That’s why I spend so much time going through decades worth of stuff. It’s been stored over the years for someone like me to take care of.

What’s the most important job for an archivist – digging into the past or preserving for the future?

The two are actually mutually exclusive; they’re impossible to separate. Without going through the past there’s nothing to preserve, and vice versa. And there’s actually a third element too, which is often forgotten but equally as important, and that is making the archive accessible. Not just for me, but for anyone who will want to find out what we did a hundred years from now. 

Sounds like tiresome work. Is it?

I really wouldn’t call it tiresome. This job is a dream come true for an archivist, because with our history you find new exciting things almost every day. At the same time, it’s really heavy work! I’ve gone through around 150 pallets worth of stuff, each containing roughly 15 boxes, and basically every single item needs to be cleaned, catalogued and photographed – or disposed. But it’s a really exciting and important job, because I know how valuable this is before you can start really digging into our past.

This job is a dream come true for an archivist, because with our history you find new exciting things almost every day

What’s your best finding so far?

Wow, that’s a difficult question to answer. There are plenty! I guess the most significant finding so far is discovering that our founder LO Smith was one of the first to ever seek a patent in Sweden, for Carlshamn’s Flaggpunsch, which is still being produced. That’s the sort of thing you stumble across that really makes this job fascinating. 

I discover new stuff every week, though, and sometimes it’s just by accident. Like yesterday, when our internet connection at the office was down for a few hours, I got time to talk to our janitor who told me that he owned a copy of basically every print ad ever created for Absolut Vodka. I had already prepared to acquire all the ads elsewhere, but my spontaneous meeting with our janitor saved us both valuable time and money. In other words, you have to be social when working as an archivist.

You spend much time alone in your job, though. Have you always enjoyed that?

I have. I grew up with seven siblings – well, two were actually step siblings and three were cousins – but there was always people around. So when I needed to get away for a while I would borrow my mother’s collection of romantic novels – like Catherine Cook novels. But when I had read them all, the library soon became my second home. 

Do you still find comfort in libraries?

I’m more into museums these days – I go to at least one every weekend. Since I’m a daydreamer, museums are the perfect escape for me. Not least because I have always believed I’m born into the wrong century. I still have a special bond to libraries though, and especially to librarians. One day, I’d like to become like the typical librarian here at TAC. You know the one who’s almost part of the furniture, the one who knows every corner, and every story that surrounds the place.

Keeping up with the times and peering into the future is part of our DNA, and one of our favorite ways to do that is to visit the annual TNW festival in Amsterdam.

TNW founder Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten has been featured by us before, and his knack for finding the trends of tomorrow has turned TNW into a tech festival juggernaut – this year attracting an impressive 17,500 visitors. Last year, we spotted five major tech trends at TNW, including the growing importance of data, blockchain, and China – but this year, there was only one trend and it acted as the common theme for the entire festival: society and its challenges.

For the first time, TNW felt truly holistic in its approach. The speakers, seminars and roundtable discussions ventured far beyond “just tech” to include tech’s larger role in shaping society and humanity’s global challenges. There was less buzz about trends and new hot apps, and instead more talk about solving real challenges, finding synergies between different fields, seeking deeper purpose and bringing more “humanity” into technology. 

There was less buzz about trends and new hot apps, and instead more talk about solving real challenges, finding synergies between different fields, seeking deeper purpose and bringing more “humanity” into technology

This shift to a more holistic focus was obvious already in the tracks and topics set for the main stages. In addition to last year’s stage conversations about the changing media landscape, blockchain and artificial intelligence, this year also offered talks around equality, sustainability, privacy and future generations. TNW 2019 was not only bigger, but also more diverse in its content, mirroring the increasing complexity of modern society. 

Speakers focused a great deal on global challenges including climate change, automation and tribalism – all of which were themes that came up repeatedly on many stages. One example was the problem of how YouTube’s and Facebook’s algorithms are biased towards spreading extreme and radicalised content (simply because it makes people spend more time on the platforms). Another was that data privacy is now such a growing public concern that #deletefacebook has been more widely used than #metoo. A third example pointed out how our lazy human brains are already blindly trusting AI so much that the number of “deaths by GPS” are growing fast (i.e. people losing their lives as a result of following GPS directions leading them into rivers, ravines or hot deserts). Overall, the tech industry and society as a whole is waking up to the challenges and actively starting to seek solutions. Even the food stands seemed to be more conscious this year, offering oat milk latte’s and vegan burgers.

Furthermore, TNW 2019 showed how technology is playing an increasingly important role in all aspects of modern society. For the first time, there was a stage focused on the intersection between technology, culture and art, and multiple talks showed us how tech has moved beyond just digitizing tools, individuals, teams and organisations to now also digitize whole nations (with Estonia being the frontrunner).

Beyond the increased focus on societal challenges and macro-use of technology, TNW left us with the realization that the heart of technology is the humanity behind it. To solve our current and future challenges, we will surely need technology but we cannot rely on only tech to bring us the answers. Humans and computers must collaborate, and our underlying humanity must shape our innovations if we are to thrive on this planet in the future. 

Nan Kjellberg is well-aware that our planet is in a critical state. She was raised by parents who were environmental activists and she works everyday with sustainability, so you wouldn’t hold it against her would she have a gloomy outlook on the future. But it’s quite the opposite – she’s energized.

Don’t you get anxious about the climate crisis?

“Of course I do. I get discouraged sometimes, but I remain optimistic. I recognize that we are unlikely to reverse the trend, but I still think you have to trust that humanity both can and will adapt – in one way or another. We’ll have to wait and see how it will turn out, but historically humanity has always adapted. The last few decades are just a parenthesis in our history, where we have created a society that won’t last. But we have been high on fossil fuels for far too long now. We have become life-long addicts, and we are slowly coming to terms with the fact that we need to go into rehab.”

Is this hopeful outlook a way for you to cope?

“No, I think we need both excitement and anxiousness. Perhaps not anxiousness, but at least dystopian scenarios. Just to face the fact that this could be the end. But hearing that over and over again won’t spark a solution. You need to hear positive stories to gain the hope and excitement needed to make a change.”

We have become life-long addicts, and we are slowly coming to terms with the fact that we need to go into rehab

Where do you get your inspiration from?

“I don’t think I need that much inspiration. We live in such an exciting time! Our idea of constant progression has been turned up-side-down and we’re at a crossroads where we need to turn each stone to come up with a solution. It’s very melodramatic, but it’s also very exciting.”

Where does your interest in sustainability come from?

“I think you have to look at my childhood. Growing up, we lived in an old school building in the middle of nowhere, with goats, pigs and lots of other animals. My parents were part of the so-called “gröna vågen” (a ‘hippie-ish’ counterurbanization movement in Sweden during the 1970’s). My father grew up in France, close to Paris where he graduated from college in 1968. He later moved to Sweden and got a degree in biology. I guess this background explains why me and my siblings were raised to be both politically aware and to take care of this planet.”

How do you bring that to The Absolut Company?

“Before I go into areas where we can improve, I have to stress the fact that our distillery is about as energy efficient and emission free as a distillery gets. That being said, we can always find ways to improve. But it also means that our carbon footprint is not determined by our production to the same extent as it was before. We’re one of the biggest buyers of grain in the area, which leaves a footprint that stretches well beyond our distillery, so I mostly focus on our suppliers. I try to find new, more sustainable, alternatives, and I want to influence existing suppliers to become even more sustainable.”

You’re an environmental engineer. Do you identify more with the environment part or the engineer part?

“Definitely environment. That’s who I am. The other part is more about method and a title. To give you an idea: a few years ago, my family had to convince me to leave some lamps on at home as a burglary protection. I was reluctant to use them, just to save energy. I can be quite persistent sometimes, and small stuff like that can become a huge thing for me, because I have that way of thinking built-in.”

“I have a personal interest in sustainability too, and part of me also believes that you can’t become really good at something if you only want to spend eight hours a day on it. I came to that conclusion when I was working with risk management earlier in my career. It was only a job, so I decided to quit and pursue my passion instead. I can spend hours reading about the latest findings and trends in sustainability, even in my spare time.”

If I tell them they need new clothes, they don’t ask which store we should go to. They ask me when the next flea market is.

Have you embraced the principles your parents taught you?

“I guess I have to an extent. Even though I know I can’t compete with them when it comes to consuming as little as possible, I’ll always have their way of thinking in the back of my mind. As children, we were taught to always safeguard the resources we had, and inevitably I’ve passed that thinking on to my own children. If I tell them they need new clothes, they don’t ask which store we should go to. They ask me when the next flea market is. I don’t think they’ve even been to a clothing store. But I try not to let it go overboard. I don’t push them into only one way of thinking, I try to inform and encourage them into being aware.”

Had it not been for a certain Frenchman’s passion and personality, Absolut would probably never have achieved the success it did in the US – and ultimately the world. His name was Michel Roux and between 1979 and 1994 he was responsible for marketing and sales of Absolut in the US. Sadly, at the age of 78, he has now passed away.

Michel Roux was arguably the most important person behind Absolut’s success in the US during the 1980’s and 1990’s, paving the way for the worldwide recognition the Swedish premium vodka enjoys today. Much of this can be credited to Michel’s rebelliousness and undying passion for the brand. Michel once said, regarding the marketing of Absolut, that “We didn’t want to win the argument. We wanted to change the discussion.”

Through legendary advertising and artist collaborations – commissioned on Michel’s behalf – Absolut shifted the perception of what a sprits brand could be. Contemporary artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring wanted to work with the brand, and Absolut soon extended its collaborations into all fields of American culture – visual art, music, literature, fashion. 

Michel will always be remembered at The Absolut Company, especially by those who have had the honor to meet him. Paula Eriksson and Björn von Matérn, who have worked at The Absolut Company for a combined 36 years, have met Michel on a several occasions. Both say that meeting him left a lasting impression.

If you ask me, Michel has been the single most important person to Absolut

“He had a life-long love affair with Absolut. I can clearly remember the first time I met him. It was at an event we organized shortly after The Absolut Company was acquired by Pernod Ricard,” says Paula Eriksson. This was in 2011, when Michel and his company Carillon Importers hadn’t been involved in the marketing of Absolut for roughly 15 years. “I knew he had been important to Absolut’s success during the 80s and the 90s, but frankly I didn’t know that much about his work. You could really tell what Absolut meant for him, though,” Paula remembers, “At this event, he was interviewed on-stage and received a standing ovation for his work. When he sat down afterwards, in the seat next to mine, I could see there were tears in his eyes. He was that touched by being back with the company.”

Björn von Matérn notes Michel’s love Absolut, but also mentions the one trait he believes kept that love intact. “His curiosity. It kept him moving. Though he always had a story to tell, he was above all a very good listener,” he says, adding, “If you ask me, Michel has been the single most important person to Absolut.” 

However, Michel’s legacy will not be limited to what he achieved with Absolut. “Michel made Absolut Vodka aspirational. By making it part of popular culture and relevant to people,” Paula explains, “he changed the perception of what a sprits brand could be.”

Björn also mentions two breakthroughs attributed to Michel that are well-established in the industry today, but were seen as groundbreaking at the time, “Thanks to Michel’s confidence in Absolut’s quality and by seeing the real potential it had, he created the premium vodka segment,” he says, continuing, “He also introduced the first-ever flavored vodka, Absolut Peppar. You really can’t underestimate the influence Michel has had on this industry.”

Colin Kavanagh knows what an organisation needs to drive its digital transformation and stay relevant over time. The Irishman has tons of international experience and has worked all over the world, including Ireland, France, Brazil, Canada and Sweden – always for Pernod Ricard, most recently in the role of VP Marketing Malibu & Kahlua.

For Colin, it doesn’t feel like the same company though, but rather as if he’s been moving around the globe to work for different companies with the same set of values. He says that working for one global business with one core set of values, but with constantly shifting cultural perspectives, has opened his mind to understand that there is always more than one way to solve a challenge.

Colin brought that dynamic perspective with him as he moved from sunny Brazil to cold Sweden in 2015, where he would spend the following three years working on digital transformation for The Absolut Company. From all his previous moves and positions, his bags were already filled with a great deal of knowledge and experience in how to drive brand transformation – but in Sweden and at The Absolut Company, he would find even more insights to pack.

As Colin is now set to move on to new challenges (naturally once again within Pernod Ricard), he looks back at the two major keys to digital transformation he found in his work with the Absolut team.

The power of positive leadership

After a few months working in Stockholm, Colin deliberately decided to change his leadership approach. He sought to create more openness and conditions for people to experiment and take risks, while also making sure everyone understood the purpose of their work to a fuller extent. That meant making a change from “having the answers” to instead being the one asking the questions and through that empower the team to find new solutions. He also made sure to listen inwards more often. “I made a conscious decision to enjoy my work more, to do more of the things that I liked and that would help me grow. I also truly understood how to harness the power of fun. We are in a fun business, our brands have that as part of their DNA and we found that it can be a powerful tool for breaking down the silos and improving collaboration,” he explains. That journey of changing his leadership to a more positive note helped drive digital transformation and growth in his team. “Everybody is focusing on the tech and tools to drive change, but it’s actually not about that at all. Change only comes from people and positive leadership,” he summarizes. 

I made a conscious decision to enjoy my work more, to do more of the things that I liked and that would help me grow. I also truly understood how to harness the power of fun.

The importance of embodying passion for progression

The second major lesson from his Absolut journey is the importance of “being” what you preach. If you lead an organisation to change, transform and progress, you need to take ownership of your own development and truly live your own gospel. ”As a person, you need to invest in your development. You need to take ownership and you need to drive it,” he says. 

Colin decided to take a course at the Stockholm School of Economics as well as coaching sessions to work on himself and his skills, and he took time to coach others on his team to help them on their journeys. The idea was to push himself beyond his comfort zone, try new things and develop a “growth mindset”. With his personal work as the foundation, he found it easier to credibly drive organisational transformation. “Ultimately it’s about people. To lead change is to try new things and get people comfortable with that. We’ve done a lot of work on our vision and our values to accomplish that, and there’s been a really strong buy-in into passion for progression as a result,” he says. 

As Colin now continues his transformation-fueled journey around the world and takes on the marketing responsibility for no less than 51 of Pernod Ricard’s national markets (a fitting job for someone who enjoys working with different perspectives), he feels that our perception of change needs to be renewed and that he now can see that shift happening all around him.

“Progression only comes from asking yourself the tough questions, but change doesn’t have to be painful if you’re proactive about it. If you see past your own fear of change, you’ll understand that it is better for us to drive the change we want, rather than to have someone else impose it on us,” he concludes.

Having full traceability within our value chain is a key requirement for Malibu and Kahlua and we have been mapping the ingredients used in our products for several years. Doing so gives us the transparency we need and it enables us to assess any Environmental and Social risks in each of those value chains. For some ingredients, sugarcane, and coffee, for example, we realized the sheer number of farmers involved made it difficult to engage with each one in a meaningful way so we started to discuss other options to secure ingredients which are sourced and produced responsibly.

Billy King is Director, Technical and Sustainable Performance at Malibu and Kahlua and he is one of the architects behind the coffee project.   

“It was clear that the challenges faced by the farmers of each ingredient were not always the same and so, required different actions. For sugarcane, collaboration is key, and to play an active role within Bonsucro to seek transformational change in that sector. For coffee, we saw an opportunity to engage with farming communities directly and build our own project. All the coffee used in Kahlua is grown in Veracruz, Mexico so we were able to focus our efforts in that region”

Their idea was to identify coffee farming communities in need of support, that also had the capacity and willingness to develop in a sustainable way. Billy King and his colleagues wanted to find ways to address the basic social needs of the farmers and their families, protecting the heritage of these indigenous communities – and at the same time secure a sustainable supply of coffee for Kahlua. 

As a first step, they needed to find a local partner to work with, someone with deep knowledge of the region and with credibility in community development and sustainable agriculture

As a first step, they needed to find a local partner to work with, someone with deep knowledge of the region and with credibility in community development and sustainable agriculture. They found that in the Mexican NGO Fondo para La Paz. 

“We met with the NGO in Veracruz to see their work on the ground and were all totally blown away by what we saw. There was a real emotional connection between Fondo Para La Paz and the communities where they acted. It was clear they had established trust and were already having an impact.” 

The next step was to decide what outcomes they wanted from the project, ensuring the objectives addressed all three elements of Sustainable Development: social, economic and environmental. They met with various social and agroecological experts to understand the specific challenges faced by coffee farmers in Veracruz. Input received directly from the communities was also a key part of the process.

“Some families within the communities had immediate needs like access to clean water and sanitation that we acted on immediately. Our longer-term plans included actions to tackle poverty, empower women and support social cohesion. In the Environmental area, we wanted to focus on reforestation, improved soil nutrition and preservation of biodiversity.” 

Some families within the communities had immediate needs like access to clean water and sanitation that we acted on immediately

Billy King says that the program has been up and running for some years now, the cooperation with Fondo para La Paz is working very well and progress can already be seen on many of the objectives. 

Malin Stålnacke is Marketing Manager at Kahlua and is now part of the project. She says that it was a conscious decision to start small and then expand the project step by step to include more communities and with that, more coffee.

“The main purpose of the program is to create a better, fairer and more sustainable livelihood through coffee and to do so by directly engaging with the local community. At the end of the day, we believe the only way to actually change things for the better is to have people be a part of the journey –believing in it and co-creating it. Our goal is to source all of our coffee from sustainable communities within 4 years” 

Achieving this ambitious goal would mean meeting an annual production requirement of around 300 tonnes but Malin Stålnacke is convinced that this is absolutely possible to achieve. They have already identified three more communities in the same Veracruz mountain region, all with the capability to produce high-quality coffee. All in all, they will work with close to 500 families. They recently visited the new communities and had meetings with the responsible council in each one, together with Fondo para LaPaz. 

“We needed to meet them to find out what needs they have, and what to focus on in the different villages. Not all communities will have the same needs. Fondo para La Paz uses a process known as ‘participatory planning’ where they work closely with the villagers to identify their needs and wishes.” 

One challenge almost all communities face is the lack of income opportunities for young men. Some leave their homes and families for months at a time to work in the sugarcane industry. Providing more jobs and income in the community could allow these young men to stay in the village with their families. 

Malin Stålnacke stresses the importance of including all three aspects of sustainable development in the work. 

“Our work with the farmers at the core of all our brands must focus on all three areas of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental. Only by developing initiatives around all three can we work towards sustainable community livelihoods and ensure a secure and sustainable future for our key ingredients and the people who provide them.“ 

Absolut Vodka turns 40 on 17 April this year, and the transparent beverage, bottled in Åhus in southern Sweden, has become America’s largest vodka import and the third best-selling vodka in the world. Every year, almost 100 000 boxes of both the pure and the flavored variants are sold around the world. An incomparable feat, not the least considering how difficult it is to establish a new vodka brand and that the bottle and its logo are more or less unchanged since the end of the1970s. 

“It’s clear that you feel pride when traveling and see the bottles wherever you go,” says Hans Brindfors, who as a promising young art director at Carlsson & Broman created the bottle in the late 1970s before becoming a world-renowned design guru.  

The journey started when co-owner and creative director Gunnar Broman who in the mid-1970s was assigned by state-owned liquor company Vin & Sprit to investigate the feasibility of selling Swedish liquor abroad. A few years earlier, well-renowned ad man Broman and art director and designer Brindfors convinced all of Sweden to drink the inexpensive wine Kir, and they had also made local beer brand Pripps Blå a market leader in just six months. Forty percent of beer-shoppers purchased Pripps and it was not just younger people, who had been the intended target group. This had all happened under the watchful eyes of Pripps AB’s chairman, Lars Lindmark, who in 1974 became the CEO of Vin & Sprit. Lindmark’s mandate was to modernize the state-owned company. And what could be more modern than a major launch in the American market – the world’s largest – and making Swedish liquor an export success?

“It’s was a difficult market. It still is. Just a few years ago I worked with launching a new vodka in the same market,” says Hans Brindfors. “A new vodka was introduced in the US every other day, often from major brands with huge budgets backing them up. By the end of the year, only two had survived.”

A new vodka was introduced in the US every other day, often from major brands with huge budgets backing them up. By the end of the year, only two had survived.

Lars Lindmark assembled a team to study the market, and as far as which advertising agency would take on the job, the choice was easy.

“Vin & Sprit wanted to sell aquavit abroad and we conducted a survey that showed that white spirits were on the way up, so we decided to make a premium variant,” says Gunnar Broman. 

Based on the results of the study, Broman went to work at his office in the former flat of the old liquor king, LO Smith, in central Stockholm. There were soon six different blends of various liquors and flavors. Broman, Brindfors and project manager Peter Ekelund from Vin & Sprit traveled to America to test their ideas. It was vodka that attracted the most attention and one of the bottles stood out. It was small, transparent and lacked a label, with the text printed directly on the bottle. The name was taken from an older Swedish product – Absolut rent brännvin (“Absolute pure vodka”), once created by LO Smith. The year 1869 was added to the bottle, marking the year that LO Smith in his newly acquired factory on Reimersholme in Stockholm began continuous distillation. Surveys showed that people liked it, but few believed in it. It did not look the way vodka bottles should look – and the experts argued that it would be invisible on the liquor shelves in its transparent guise. 

“Do it wrong,” Broman said and took it to the next step. 

 “Eklund was smart,” says Hans Brindfors. “When the bottle that stood outperformed weakly in the surveys, he reported home that we had a very strong idea that set it apart from all the others.” 

Do it wrong,” Broman said and took it to the next step 

In an interview in the Swedish daily Kristianstadsbladet from 2009, Broman described the process: “Eklund was young, just 23. He didn’t understand what was impossible, and he never understood where his authority began and where it ended.” 

 “I threatened to quit if they changed the bottle,” says Gunnar Broman.“There were no alternatives.” 

Broman’s inspiration for the bottle came from an old chemist variant he’d found in an antique shop in Stockholm’s Old Town. With further inspiration from the book American bottles that Brindfors had read, the design became unique. Finding packaging provider that could deliver on that design took some time, though.

“I found a glassworks in France that was willing to take on the job, and once we got the okay, we created fifty variants and took them to the US. I booked a separate seat on the flight just for the bottles.” 

Several liquor distributors in the US quickly rejected the Absolut bottle. Brindfors and Broman spent considerable time in the air, commuting to meetings in the US with refinements of the product as well as meetings with new potential distributors. 

In the middle of it all, Brindfors received an offer he just couldn’t refuse – if he started his own agency, he would get the entire Linjeflyg airline account

In the middle of it all, Brindfors received an offer he just couldn’t refuse – if he started his own agency, he would get the entire Linjeflyg airline account. He left Broman & Carlsson and the Absolut bottle the same day. The final adjustments were made by Broman’s agency colleague Lars-Börje Carlsson. The original idea had been enhanced with a seal portraying LO Smith, the man behind the original “absolute pure vodka” when the Carillon brand and sales director Michel Roux accepted the distribution assignment. The unique font on the bottle was created with inspiration from an older advertisement for Cadillac that Brindfors had come across. 

Looking at the six platforms that Brindfors and Broman took to the first meeting, it is clear that the final design drew inspiration from several of them and that the original concept had proven itself. Even the image of LO Smith was there early on. Some minor adjustments were made along the way, such as removing the word “pure” and the “e” from Absolute – a visual factor that marketers said strengthened associations with Sweden. 40 years later, the bottle is still the same. 

“It’s a simple model and it’s unique, the shape is easy to fill, and you can easily work further within the same framework,” says Hans Brindfors. 

Although Brindfors left the original project, the fact remains that apart from a gap of a few years, he has worked continuously with Absolut. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Brindfors and his team at the agency he started, have created more than 50 variants for the brand, and in addition, also severalspecial versions as the flavors increased.

Absolut Vodka was introduced in spring of 1979, and with the success of the product, the plant in Åhus, which was on the verge of closing its doors for good, got a new lifeline. During the early 1980s and into the 1990s, Absolut Vodka conquered the global market, proving that vodka did not need or pretend to be Russian. Lars Lindmark’s vision was fulfilled –  the export success is one of Sweden’s biggest ever. With the help of meticulous research and creative work of world-class, Gunnar Broman and Hans Brindfors created the conditions for Absolut Vodka’s success. That they were so confident in their ingenuity was absolutely crucial.

This article, and in particular how the unique design was perceived, is based on interviews in 2019 with Gunnar Broman and Hans Brindfors, as well as research into secondary sources.

It’s been forty years since the first bottle of Absolut Vodka left the Åhus distillery. It made the long journey across the Atlantic to end up in some of Manhattan’s trendiest night clubs and most extravagant gay bars of that time. The rest is, as they say, history.

However, for Ann Streton, Johnny Ståhl, Roland Emdefur and Kenneth Jönsson it’s more than just history. Absolut’s journey is a major part of their adult lives. They started working for the Absolut Company in the late 1970’s, before the idea of Absolut Vodka was even born. Back then, Sweden had a state monopoly on production of alcoholic beverages and The Absolut Company had a different, rather self-explanatory, name – Vin & Sprit (Wine & Spirits).  

Ann, Johnny, Roland and Kenneth still work with Absolut in Åhus (well, technically Ann retired a month ago). We met up on their day off to reminisce the times that have passed since the first shipment of Absolut left the Åhus harbor for the US. 

How did you end up getting a job here? 

Kenneth Jönsson: It was in the late 70’s, and back then the process of getting hired was very different from today. Instead of the rigorous processes you go through today, my future boss basically wanted to see if I was up for the job and that I would pitch in when and if it was needed of me. And that willingness to step up was the most important trait to have back then. Everyone was expected to pitch in when necessary. Today, the roles are more specialized, which of course has its benefits. But sometimes I miss the old days. 

What were ‘the old days’ like? 

Ann Streton: It was a different time, of course. A lot less people worked here, so we were more like a big family. In fact, back then many of the people who worked here were literally family. Johnny, your father worked here while you joined, right?  

Johnny Ståhl: Yes, that’s true. My father worked here for 30 years, from 1965 until he retired in 1995, so we’ve been here for a combined 70 years now. But the company grew so much after the success of Absolut Vodka that it’s much harder to come across family relationships here today.  

When you were hired, did you have any idea of the success you would be part of, given the imminent launch of Absolut Vodka?  

Johnny Ståhl: No, not at all. Back then, the distillery was actually threatened by closure, so success wasn’t really part of our vocabulary. But we were handed a lifeline by getting much of the liqueur production transferred here from Stockholm, where it had previously been located. It did save us from closing, but it only worked as a short-time solution. Anyway, that was a different time and as a result we were producing lots of different products when I joined. 

Ann Streton: Yes, we were focused on producing liqueurs, fruit wines, dessert wines and stuff like that back then. I even remember how we used to peel the oranges used in the distillation by hand. We only used the zest in the production, so we gave away the rest to either schools or kindergartens in the area. Whatever was left after that, we – the employees – could then buy for ourselves at a very good price. 

The decision to shift production to Åhus was made by then-CEO at Vin & Sprit, Lars Lindmark. He thought it would be a shame to shut down the Åhus distillery, much because of the village’s near century-old tradition of spirits distillation. But as Johnny explained, shifting the production to Åhus was only a short term-plan. Lars had bigger plans for Åhus.  

I even remember how we used to peel the oranges used in the distillation by hand

By the late 1970’s, he had identified a growing global market for a premium vodka. His timing was perfect, especially if you considered the market for non-Russian vodka. That same year, The Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan, and the US responded with heavy sanctions on Soviet products. With growing demand for premium vodka in the US, the sanctions dealt a hard blow for Russian-made vodka and presented a great opportunity for a Swedish contender.  

Absolut Vodka was – and still is – inspired by the Absolut Company’s founder L.O. Smith’s famous and ground-breaking Absolut Renat Brännvin, which had transformed the spirits production in Sweden over a hundred years earlier. So, when production of the spiritual successor started in 1979, it had to be done in great secrecy.  

If none of you had heard about Absolut Vodka when you were hired, when was the first time you did? 

Kenneth Jönsson: News about it only reached us gradually. The first deliveries were carefully concealed with blankets and we didn’t know much about product or what the plans for it were. Naturally it sparked our curiosity and we started asking lots of questions. We got few answers in the beginning, but very soon we learned about the plans of exporting a premium Swedish-made vodka to the US. Shortly after, everyone was involved in bottling and packing the first batch for shipment to the US.

Roland Emdefur: I remember the first batch and the bottling being riddled with small obstacles, though. It was a tiresome process to get the shipments ready: we first had to unpack the bottles, remove the wrapping and fill the bottles, and then reseal the bottles, redo the wrapping and – finally – repack the bottles in the same box they arrived in. It was heavy labor, but everyone pitched in and did their job to perfection. 

Kenneth Jönsson: Looking back, I don’t think I was convinced of success at that time. I knew about the failed attempt at large-scale exporting of Swedish vodka in the 1960’s. But as it turned out, this was something completely different. This was a premium vodka with a very clear marketing idea and my doubts were proven to be unfounded, to say the least. 

Looking back, I don’t think I was convinced of success at that time. I knew about the failed attempt at large-scale exporting of Swedish vodka in the 1960’s.

When did you realize Absolut was about to become a success? 

Roland Emdefur: It was hard for us to comprehend back here – especially the impact it had in the US. But for me, a clear sign of the success was when I saw Sean Connery drinking Absolut Vodka in a Bond movie. I think it was in the early 80’s, in the movie Never Say Never Again, where James Bond opens a briefcase full of Beluga caviar, quail eggs and a bottle of Absolut. It was an iconic moment, but later on we of course noticed the success in many other ways.  

Kenneth Jönsson: We got lots of new colleagues in the early 80’s. Up until then, everyone had been working overtime to keep up with the increased demand, but eventually we reached a point when we needed to hire more people in order to cope. And after that, we just kept growing! About a decade later, in 1994, production hit the roof and we had to streamline our production to focus only on Absolut. Then, after yet another decade, production hit the roof once again. That’s when the distillery in Nöbbelöv, just outside Åhus, opened.

For me, a clear sign of the success was when I saw Sean Connery drinking Absolut Vodka in a Bond movie

Forty years on, and with over 100 million bottles sold each year, Absolut is still made in the village of Åhus. The front of the iconic bottle reads “One source. One community. One superb vodka. Crafted in the village of Åhus, Sweden. Absolut since 1879.” As one of the world’s most famous spirits brands, this is unique. The biggest brands typically allocate production to various continents – often to minimize costs. But for Absolut, the winter wheat fields surrounding Åhus and the close connection to the local community are far too important to its identity and unique taste. That’s why the village of Åhus and Absolut still go hand in hand and share a pride that seems mutual. 

Is the success still noticed here in Åhus? 

Roland Emdefur: Definitely. There’s a local pride surrounding Absolut. It’s almost like the entire community is a global ambassador for Absolut.  

Kenneth Jönsson: I think people from Åhus like to mention that they come from the place where Absolut is made. At least I do – and it still raises eyebrows when you tell people. 

Ann Streton: I’ve noticed that same reaction from foreign visitors that come here. When I tell them it’s actually all made right here – that this small town is the only production site for all Absolut that is sold – they really can’t believe it. Everyone assumes we’re like any other mass-produced vodka, with plenty of production sites all over the world. 

Kenneth Jönsson: I particularly remember one time when I showed a few American visitors around the distillery and the factory. After the tour they said ‘Well, thanks for the tour, but where’s the vodka made?’. When I explained that it’s all done here, they just couldn’t believe it. They thought this was some sort of museum.

At the end of the interview, when asked if the thought of quitting has ever crossed their minds during the decades at Absolut, the unanimous answer is ‘no’. That’s actually a very fair representation of the people that put their heart and soul into making each bottle of Absolut. And the stats back it up – according to Johnny, only two people have left the distillery voluntarily since he started working here in the late seventies.  

Surprisingly enough, it’s not that surprising that US-born Tad Greenough moved to Sweden.

For one, his wife is Swedish, but an equally important reason is that Tad has a history of continuously venturing out of his comfort zone to wherever there’s a story that needs telling. Once in Stockholm, he decided to join The Absolut Company as Director of Brand Creative simply because he saw in it ”a progressive brand with a pioneering legacy of bringing positive change to the world – but also with a story that deserves being told in new ways”.

Tad’s life has always had an undercurrent of rebellion. From an early age, he was inspired to follow his own path in life and never fear the unknown. It started with sports, where Tad learned to play almost every sport out there – from hockey, to golf, lacrosse, squash, baseball, kayaking, football (not soccer), etc and – finally – rowing, where he found his true calling. Thus, after graduating from pre-law studies in Boston, and after rowing for a number of established clubs across the US, he ventured out into the world without a clear agenda or plan. He started by hiking, biking and backpacking around the planet, occasionally taking different temporary jobs, which over time would shape his own unique character. He found a gig as a whitewater rafting guide in 5+ rapids (that’s pretty scary stuff), he worked at a brewery for a while kicking out the mash tons, and he eventually decided to give copywriting a try. In all his professional endeavours, Tad has been diving in head first without any training or previous experience, simply because he was curious​.

In copywriting, he found his passion for storytelling and was inspired by the creative vibes of the boutique ad agencies of Madison Avenue. His ambition and curiosity first took him to New York City and later, in the late 90s, to San Francisco, which was the Mecca of advertising at the time. In the heart of Silicon Valley, he enjoyed a front row seat during the exhilarating boom and the painful bubble burst of the fledgling tech industry, before he once again felt compelled to step outside of his comfort zone and moved on to Los Angeles. By now, he had built quite a reputation in marketing and joined Chiat Day as the global account lead for Nissan. 

Don’t get too caught up in the business. Remember the people you’re trying to serve. Serving your consumers is the most important organisational muscle, and your reason for being.

Then his appetite for adventure and change kicked in again. Tad has always viewed life as a game of filling in the blanks, and now he started sensing that he was missing life experience outside of the US. He turned his focus to Europe and found a job at Wieden+Kennedy in Amsterdam, where he soon found himself in another unknown territory – working with soccer for the global Nike account.

Tad didn’t know the first thing about soccer, so he had to learn as he went – a process that left him feeling more whole and grounded as a person. The continuous stepping out of his comfort zone pushed him to find the core of himself, and his personal journey soon started to impact his work as a storyteller. Tad found himself being curious about the personal stories of the athletes, and brought that curiosity with him when he joined the Nike marketing team client side, full time. With Tad’s personal storytelling style, the brand started shifting from focusing on products to instead focus on consumers and ”serving athletes”, which would prove to become an immensely successful brand journey. Tad believes that “modern communication is about moving beyond product and function to increasingly highlighting consumer journeys, life integration and human potential”. He is drawing wisdom from his own journey, as well as his many years in sports communication, when stating that consumer focus is a muscle one needs to exercise;

Exercising that people-serving muscle from his new home in Sweden is  next for Tad, and we’re curious to see where his curiosity will take the legacy of both Absolut and Tad Greenough.

Boris ​Veldhuijzen​ van Zanten is having breakfast at the At Six Hotel, while scrolling on his phone. The dutch entrepreneur, who is in Stockholm for The Absolut Company’s Tomorrow’s Thought Leaders gathering, is browsing for clothes in a French online store.

This behavior is one of the two trends currently on his radar; how we take amazing technological solutions for granted. The fact that he can shop for pants in France from his breakfast table in Stockholm and have them delivered to a hotel in San Francisco, using only his phone, is a wondrous thing that we all take for granted these days.
 
How quickly we adapt to new tech and make it partof our everyday lives is fascinating to Boris. He points out that he has started to notice how his own tech consumption keeps changing rapidly. He no longer uses a computer, but does all his work on his iPad. He finds himself moving away from the text-based interfaces of Google docs, to the more object-focused dashboards of Trello. ”Just like we moved from radio to TV, and paper to computers, we are now shifting from text to objects in how we process data and do our work. “​At our conference two years ago, a speaker predicted that soon a startup would be born that would have its entire workforce using only smartphones. It seemed unrealistic at the time, but I think we’re almost there.”​ he explains.
 
The conference he is referring to is the TNW conference in Amsterdam, which he co-founded in 2006, along with the tech news website bearing the same name. The TNW website now ranks among the top 50 tech media outlets in the world – the only one on thelist not from the US or backed by venture capital (however, since this interview took place, Financial Times has acquired a majority stake in TNW) – and the conference has grown into the biggest tech event in Europe, attracting 17,500 visitors this year and growing by 20% annually. Boris sits at the heart of both these knowledge hubs, and enjoys first-row tickets as the tech world keeps changing around him.

The most successful apps are both created and used by people, and the story behind the tech is more interesting than the tech itself. It’s all about the people.

The rapidly shifting behaviours, and how people seem to adapt their lives around machines, is one of the clear trends heis currently spotting. The other major thing he’s seeing is what he calls ”the humanity in tech”. Tech is not about ones and zeros, but rather about brainsand hearts. ”The most successful apps are both created and used by people, and the story behind the tech is more interesting than the tech itself. It’s all about the people.”, he says.
 
He points out how our lives change with technology, and how technology’s growing pains become major global concerns, as in the case of Russian social media campaigns infiltrating the US elections. Still, he remains tech positive; ”With the world going through such dramatic changes, there are bound to be some rough edges along the way. Even if Facebook gets a great deal of negative press right now, it’s overall effect on society has been positive by truly connecting the world.”
 
And he is now sensing the dawn of a new era, where the tech sector will dive even deeper into its own consciousness. Tech startups are no longer pushing employees to work all-nighters, but rather to improve their work through personal development, meditation, smart nutrition andsufficient rest. At TNW 2018, an entire track of the conference mirrored this trend by highlighting stress management, meditation entrepreneurs and an inspirational speech by YouTube philosopher Jason Silva. Boris explains how ”tech deserves to change the world in a human and civilised way, where people are allowed to feel happy and safe” and that he is glad to now see this shift in the mindset of leading tech companies around the world.
 
As for his own company, he hopes to create an organisation sustainable enough to outlive himself and keep providing the world with new knowledge for another 100 years at least. This year, TNW celebrates it 14th birthday and we’re curious to see if the teenage conference will show off an even more mindful version of itself in its 2019 instalment.